National Spelling Bee : An Awkward Child Gallery

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is being held this week in Washington, DC and broadcast on ESPN. It’s no secret that the Spelling Bee is a fabulous collection of twitchy awkward tweens. It’s nearly impossible to find a photo from this event which isn’t humorous in some way or another. From spellers looking deep into their head for the answers, writing out imaginary letters with their fingers, and giving the judges puzzled looks in reaction to a word they’ve never heard before, the contestants never fail to deliver reactions which bemuse. It only elevates from there when they either get the word right or wrong, or react as their fellow competitors do the same. We’ve collected 80 of our favorite in the gallery below: